Too Important to Fail by Tavis Smiley
Author:Tavis Smiley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hay House
Published: 2011-10-20T00:00:00+00:00
WHATEVER WE CAN, WHATEVER WE HAVE, WHEREVER WE ARE
Three hundred miles south of Alameda County, the Los Angeles Conservation Corps has taken a unique approach with young Black male high school dropouts. If the boys go back and work to get their high school diplomas, the conservation corps gives them a job while theyâre doing it.
Walter Finnie, a tenth grader at Domingus High in Compton, accepted that deal. He was about to drop out when a friend told him about the conservation corps and how it would be good for him as he worked his way through school. During his interview, Walter, wearing his green plastic hat and safety goggles, explained how the program works and its impact on his life. âWhat we do is, every day after lunch, Karen picks us up in the van and weâll go ride around the streets of L.A., and weâll clean alleys and, you know, clean lots ⦠spruce up the city.
âWhen Iâm cleaning alleys, Iâm thinking, like, I really donât like doing this,â Walter laughed. âBut itâs for the better of me. Itâs experience. I just feel like no matter what it is I have to do, Iâm gonna do it. This is a great opportunity to help me grow as a young man, especially where Iâm growing upâthe environment aroundâthis keeps me out of the dangers. So, you know.â
The Los Angeles Conservation Corps offers a common-sense, unique approach that helps Black boys avoid the distractions of the streets while earning a little money and staying in school.
Yet considering the number of Black boys who drop out of school and wind up pursuing fleeting and dangerous careers in the drug trade, there is a need for many more grassroots approaches, where boys and disadvantaged students can earn spending money, stay on steady paths at school, and avoid the seduction of the streets.
Marian Wright Edelmanâs evolutionary education project, the Freedom School Program, has been spreading across the country since 1995. Rooted in the educational work during the Civil Rights Movement, the schools engage children (grades Kâ12) during a six to seven week summer program. The program targets the âlearning lossâ that they typically experience when school is not in session. There are five essential components of the Freedom School Programs: high-quality academic enrichment; parent and family involvement; social action and civic engagement; intergenerational servant leadership development; and nutrition, health, and mental health.
Since its inception, more than 70,000 children and families have benefited from the Childrenâs Defense Fundâs Freedom Schoolsâ experience. Additionally, more than 7,000 college students and 1,500 adults have been trained to teach the program. The Freedom Schools served nearly 9,000 children at 142 sites in 75 cities during the summer of 2011.
The key to the programâs success is its partnerships with community-based organizations, faith institutions, municipalities, schools, colleges, and universities. Imagine how many more Black boys in low-income areas could be served if more churches, other Black agencies, and motivated individuals made commitments to develop CDF Freedom Schools in their neighborhoods.
Al Dotson, Jr.
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